Life in a tiny NY apartment

My apartment isn't that small, but I have had to be creative with space.

One approach a lot of people I know use, is to build up (shelving, book cases, etc), especially if you have nice 10 foot ceilings. It can be really effective and in effect double the space of an apartment -- I have seen people build up in really creative ways and I think Apartment Therapy probably showcases some cool things people have done (I spent a lot of time on that site when I was decorating my place). I didn't opt for building up after I did a complete renovation a few years ago, though, b/c I find that can get cluttered and I wanted to simplify my life and keep things as clean and open as possible. The one exception was my book cases which fit into an alcove and go ceiling to floor. They weren't custom or built in. I just happened to find a book case at Room and Board that fit the space perfectly and was decent quality.

I think a few keys for me were:

1) Make VERY effective use of closet space to get as much in there and hidden as possible. I spent almost as time designing my closets as I did my kitchen (which thankfully is big for a kitchen in an apartment this size).

2) I spent a lot of time looking for just the right furniture -- not just to suit my tastes, but more importamtly that would fit the place. So much furniture you see in various stores isn't made for, or suitable for, a small apartment. It might be too wide or have arms that are extra wide and curl over. Things like that. I ultimately did very square, modern furniture (without a lot of flourishes, because they end up taking useful space), and bought from a variety of places, including Crate and Barrel and Room & Board (Which were the two stores in my price range that had decent enough quality (real wood/natural steel, etc. and seemed to design furniture for urban use. On a tighter budget, IKEA would be the place to look, obviously). Among the furniture were two ottoman cubes instead of a coffee table that goes between a couch and a swivel comfy chair. You can stick your feet up on the cubes, but they also have wheels if you want to move them out of the way, the tops can be flipped over to expose table tops on the other sides (if you want the coffee table you sacrificed) and there is storage inside too. Try to find things like that. They are perfect for places like this. I got those at Crate and Barrel.

3) Don't know if this is an issue, but even before I bought furniture (for my empty place -- starting from scratch), I ran out all excited and bought a big screen TV. To save space, I mounted it on the wall and put a wall-mounted unit beneath it that hides all the wires, and has glass shelves coming right from the wall. No TV unit or console was a big space saver. Do things like that, if possible.

4) Along those lines, I have a desk and big desk chair in my apartment, but I sacrificed a table (I did extend a counter top table along a wall in the kitchen and have stools underneath, but it's not the same as having a table). What I did do was find a double drop leaf wood table with wheels, that is pretty narrow when you drop the leafs. I can wheel it out and open it in an empty space I left in my living room when we want to use it, or I can keep it stored in the closet.

Dunno if that will help at all, but they are some things that immediately came to mind.